Eleven years ago, state lawmakers gave employees doing engineering work before March 8, 1992 until 2010 to obtain a license. But VDOT in 1998 identified only four positions that it said should require licenses. "That truly did not represent all the positions where people had responsible charge," says Philip Shucet, who became transportation commissioner last year. He was an engineering executive, but is not an engineer and is not covered by the requirement.
Engineers in the state pressured VDOT to take the matter more seriously and that now seems to be the case. The department has a staff of 10,200 and 1,156 involve engineering. Some of those who need to obtain a license are eligible for retirement before the deadline, says Mal Kerley, VDOT's chief engineer for program development. If a staff member in a designated position cannot obtain a license, VDOT will change their roles or reporting relationships to comply with responsible charge rules.